Ironing-machine.



F. W. SMITH, JR.

IRONING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 25. 1912.

INVENTOR Friend WSmiZh. J5?

WlTNESSES: I 74% came. 77/. Q

FRIEND W. SMITH, 31%, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, ASSIG-NOR TO THE KINGMACHINE COMPANY, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OFCONNECTICUT.

IRON ING-lVEACI-IINE.

masses.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 6, 1915.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRIEND W. SMITH, Jr., acitizen of the United States, residing in the city of Bridgeport, countyof Fairfield, and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Ironing-Machines; and I do declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make anduse the same.

My invention relates to certain improvements in ironing machines such asare particularly designed for the purpose of ironing corsets, and hasfor its object to enable the operator to confine the smoothing operationto a comparatively narrow surface of the goods without tilting the iron,and with this end in view my invention consists in certain details ofconstruction and combination of parts hereinafter fully described andthen particularly pointed out in the claims which conclude thisdescription.

In the annexed drawings I have shown a construction for carrying out myimprovement, wherein:

Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of the ironing machine; andFig. 2 a top plan view of the iron.

I have not deemed it necessary to illustrate or describe any mechanismfor moving the iron forward and backward along the surface to be ironed,since the reciprocatory rod to which the iron is connected may beactuated by any suitable mechanism which latter of course forms no partof the present invention.

The shape of the iron which I utilize is such that the face of the sameis widest at the central portion and tapers from that point toward theends, so that such face gradually increases in width from the ends tothe middle.

In ironing certain articles, such as corsets, it is necessary to confinethe smoothing operation at times to a certain portion of the goods, asfor instance the belt or waist portion, which is comparatively narrow,and such portion should be smoothed without allowing the iron to smoothdown the adjacent portions of the corset, and this has heretofore beenaccomplished by tilting the iron and maintaining the latter in a itilted position during the smoothing of such if}; portion of the corset.

In my improvement the iron always remains in a substantially horizontalposition while the ironing board itself is tilted, and, in order thatthe nose of the iron may not dig into the goods as the iron traversesthe inclined board, I prefer to so construct the reciprocatory rod whichcarries the iron that the iron is gradually elevated in differenthorizontal planes as it travels up the incline of the board and thengradually is lowered as it travels down such incline, all of which willbe understood from the following description 1 is any suitable table orbench, and 2 a support for the ironing board mounted on said bench. 8 isthe ironing board which is suitably located on said support, in thepresent instance pivoted thereto at the point 4 at the forward end ofsaid board.

5 is any suitable treadle pivoted to the floor beneath the machine, and6 is a rod whose ends are pivotally connected respectively to saidtreadle and to the rear portion of the ironing board, so that it will beclear that when the treadle is depressed the inner end of the ironingboard will be elevated.

7 is any suitable casing or analogous structure secured on the table 1and within this structure is secured a rod 8 around which is looselysupported an idle roll 9, and 10 is a reciprocatory rod or pitman whichis cut away at any desired point intermediate of its length so as toform an inclined way or portion 11 which terminates at its ends inabrupt beveled portions 12. The degree of incline of this way or portion11 corresponds to the degree of the incline of the ironing board, andsuch portion normally rests upon the roll 9 so that it will be clearthat as the rod 10 reciprocates forward and backward said rod will begradually elevated or lowered as the case may be.

13 is the iron which is pivotally connected to the outer end of the rod10, and is preferably provided with a lug 14 on the upper face of itsrear end, this lug being normally separated by a space from theunderside of said rod.

The operation of my improvement is as follows: As the rod is movedrearwardly the iron will travel up the incline of the board 3 the lug14. coming in contact with the underside of said rod so as to prevent 35board and maintaining it in inclined posithe iron from accidentallylying fiat against the inclined surface of such board. During the travelof the iron along the ironingboard, only. the nose portion of the ironwill be in contact therewith, and when the board is thrown to itshighest working elevation, as illustrated in the drawings, the iron willhave only a relatively narrow bearing on the material resting upon theboard. Should the board be lowered slightly, but still held in workingrelation with the iron, the'width of the strip which is being ironedwill gradually widen. As the rod 10 nears its limit of motion in eachdirection, the in clines or bevel portions 12 will cause the rod to beelevated and as a consequence the iron will be bodily lifted above theplane of the ironing-board.

The drawing merely illustrates one of many structures which could bedevised for carrying out my invention, and many changesin details ofstructure, all within the spirit of my invention, are contemplated, andtherefore no particular limitation should be inferred from the foregoingdescription which has been given for clearness of understanding only.

I claim:-

1. In a machine of the character described, the combination of an ironthe width of whose face increases from the nose to the center, areciprocatory rod to the outer end of which said iron is connectedwhereby the latter is moved forward and backward, an ironing board,means for inclining said tion during the ironing operation, andautomatically controlled and operated devices for elevating the entireiron bodily above the plane of the ironing board at the ends of theforward and backward movements of said iron.

2. In. a machine of the character described, the combination of anironing board, means for inclining said board and maintaining it ininclined position during an ironing operation, a rod capable of'forwardand backward movements and provided with a way which is inclined tocorrespond with the incline of said board, a stationary roll upon whichsaid way rests, and an iron suitably connected to the outer end of saidrod and having a face increasing in width from the nose to the center,whereby said iron will be moved up and down said inclined board and willhave an ironing contact of limited width.

3. In an ironing machine, the combination of an iron-supporting rod;means for inoving the same to and fro in a path inclined to thehorizontal; an iron pivotally suspended from the end of said rod;an-ironing-board lying below said rod and iron, and pivotally supportedat one end; and means under the control of the operator for changing theelevation of the free end of the board and maintainingit in suchadjusted position, whereby the ironing relation between said board andiron will be varied. p

4. In an ironing machine, the combination of an iron-supporting rod;means for moving the same to and fro in path inclined to the horizontal;an iron pivotally suspended from the end of said rod; an ironing-boardlying below said rod and iron, and pivotally supported at one end; meansunder the control of the operator for changing the elevation of the endof the board and maintaining it in such adj usted position, whereby theironing relationbetween said board and iron will be varied; and meansfor bodily elevat ing the rod, and consequently the iron, at the end ofeach forward and backward stroke.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRIEND w. SMITH, JR.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. Q,

